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Have I killed my lawn with evergreen?
ripply
Posts: 73
I bought some evergreen 4 in 1 a few days ago and after using it, the next day the grass looked white, almost chalky. It has rained quite a lot since and today the whole lawn has gone black! You can clearly see where the stuff was applied. It looks like it's died.
What have I done wrong? Is there any way to rescue it? I had just got it looking semi-decent (from a totally overgrown mess when I moved in) and now it's ruined. 
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Thanks verdun. It was warm and sunny that day and it didn't rain until the next. I didn't realise it needed watered so quickly. I really hope it'll recover but I'll buy some grass seed in case it doesn't. Would I need to rake out the old grass first?
At this time of year I would use Autumn fertiliser to strengthen the grass roots rather then encourage top growth.
Evergreen 4 in 1 kills the moss - that's what's turned black. It's what's supposed to happen.
Rake all the dead moss and grass thatch out of the lawn and bin it before you do anything else (not the compost heap as there's weedkiller in it too).
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Don't worry too much ripply. Grass is tough. As Dove has said, it's mainly killed off moss which is why it looks rough. Ideally, you wouldn't apply this kind of product unless the ground's damp already. If it's dry, you need to water it in fairly rapidly.
It'll be fine once you get some seed down in the bare bits and it starts to come through
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you. I guess I just have to be patient. I haven't got the box anymore but it said something about not using on new grass for 8 weeks I think. Does that mean it'll stop new grass seed growing?
I was looking for their Autumn fertiliser but the shop didn't have any. They had plenty of this one so I got it instead. I wish I'd just ordered the right one online now. Or, done nothing at all! Here's a photo of the mess I've caused.
Rake the black stuff out - it'll look a mess but do it. You should see my lawn at the moment - I've got a new electric rake and scarifier and have given the front lawn a complete going over. It's the time of year for lawns to look a mess.
You could give the whole lawn a good spiking with a fork as well, that'll help the drainage over the winter.
Then, towards the end of September, when we've had some warm autumnal rain, the whole lawn will be looking much better - the grass will have perked up and you might not even need to scatter seed.
P.S. raise the cutter on your mower - at this time of year you need to be leaving the grass a bit longer.
Last edited: 02 September 2016 08:23:04
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.